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Opal-rumped tanager

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The opal-rumped tanager is a medium-sized bird of the Tangara genus. It is distinguished from other tanagers with its longer, more slender bill. Its plumage is predominantly blue and black. The top of the head, neck and back are black, while the rump is off-white. The head and the rest of the body are blue. The lower belly is reddish-brown, contrasting with the rest of the plumage. This feature makes the bird easier to identify in its natural habitat. The eyes, bill and feet are black. While the wings are mostly black, the edge of the wing feathers show a blue stripe. The male and female are similar, though the female is less vibrant in colour.

Reproduction

Not much is known about the opal-rumped tanager’s reproduction, but we do know that they raise at least one brood per year, and may lay eggs twice or even three times in a year. The female builds a cup-shaped nest, well hidden by vegetation. It generally holds two eggs, but sometimes a third is added. The eggs are greyish-white and dotted with darker shades of grey. Incubation is 13 to 14 days. The chicks are weaned after 15 or 16 days. Both the male and female feed the young with small insects and fruit. They sometimes have “helpers,” which are likely offspring from previous broods that have remained within the family territory.

Diet

The opal-rumped tanager forages for insects, fruit and berries in the upper canopy. Insects are usually caught among the foliage but sometimes also on the fly. Occasionally, it will visit fruit trees closer to the ground. Although it eats a lot of insects, fruit remains the staple of the opal-rumped tanager’s diet. To find food, it moves along branches, looking from side to side, sometimes bending to peer underneath. It also climbs up the trunks of trees, exploring cracks in the bark and epiphytic plants.

Predators

Birds of prey, tree snakes, felines and other small carnivores.

Habitat

The opal-rumped tanager is native to South America. It can be observed throughout the Amazon basin: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana.

The opal-rumped tanager is mainly found in the lowlands (below 500 m altitude) of the Amazon rainforest. In Peru and Venezuela, they sometimes reach altitudes of 1,000 to 1,200 m. The opal-rumped tanager is occasionally found in shady plantations, regenerating forests and at the edges of large forests.

There is also an opal-rumped tanager population along the coast of Brazil, in an ecosystem called the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica).

Ecology, behaviour

The opal-rumped tanager generally travels in pairs or small groups, and sometimes within mixed groups among other tropical species. According to studies on Amazon deforestation, the opal-rumped tanager loses 10% to 11% of its habitat every 15 years, representing a loss of approximately 25% of its population.The opal-rumped tanager is a sedentary bird, meaning it does not migrate. These birds do not digest the seeds of the fruit they eat, so when they are excreted, they fall to the ground and—if the conditions are right—they germinate, giving birth to a new plant or tree.

French name

Calliste varié

Scientific name

Tangara velia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Birds

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Thraupidae

Size

12 to 15 cm long

Weight

19 to 23 g (average: 21 g)

Status

Least concern (IUCN 2012)

At the Biodôme

The opal-rumped tanager will gladly mingle with other tropical rainforest birds. It can be seen flying from tree to tree in search of fruits, berries and insects. At the Biodôme, the tanagers eat various fruit (apples, pears, grapes, plantains, blueberries, raspberries, etc.), insects (meal worms, fruit flies and crickets), mashed egg yolk and commercial fruit-based bird feed.

To the right of the cotton-top tamarin habitat, between the big artificial tree and the stream, there is a fig tree. In season, the fig tree is laden with fruit, and the tanagers and cotingas have a feast.

Because they eat insects, the opal-rumped tanagers are very useful at the Biodôme; they attack pest insects as soon as they appear in the Biodôme’s tropical rainforest, thus helping to preserve it.

At the moment, we have six male opal-rumped tanagers in our tropical rainforest.